CYCLONE GITA UPDATE:
Cyclone Gita is currently undergoing extra-tropical transition, and has been re-classified as 'Former Cyclone Gita'.
Although Gita is no longer a tropical cyclone, it's still expected to significantly impact much of central New Zealand
over the next 24 hours.
Heavy rain is already occurring from Taranaki southwards to the Sounds, and is expected to spread over Buller, Nelson
and the remainder of Marlborough over the next few hours.
Strong winds are expected to develop early this afternoon into this evening for the entire country, with the potential
for damaging wind gusts from Taranaki and Taihape south to Westland and Banks Peninsula, including Wellington.
Watches and warnings remain in effect for Strong Winds and Heavy Rain, available on metservice.com, along with your latest weather forecast.
If you'd like to learn more about extra-tropical transitions, we've written a blog post http://blog.metservice.com/TC-extra-tropical-transition.